Jacobus
by WebRuss
Summary: This is my "omage" to Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
1. Chapter 1

Jacobus by WebRuss

Chapter 1 The Dry River's Mouth

The sunlight was fading away as the last rays of light were slowly replaced by the soft gray sky. It was not quite night but those few minutes in between when the sun has faded and the twin moons were not yet above the horizon. We were a small group of trainees, a padawan, and the Jedi master. Each of us shared a common bond as those able to feel the force as it moved through the universe and coursed around us like an unseen river. We were here on this planet to learn extreme condition survival skills and so far survival was all we were doing.

Several trainees were walking about making preparations for the evening. Some were setting up the shelters, others deploying the water collectors. We all watched as Rider, the padawan, moved about making checks on the sentries. Once she seemed seemed sufficiently satisfied that the sentries were in place, she returned to sit beside Rustafa.

We drew close around the fire feeling the high dessert air cooling quickly. The day was so hot it could kill you in a matter of an hour and then evening was so cold you could freeze to death in about the same amount of time. We all sat around quietly looking at the flames of the fire. I had brought my stones and had expected that we would again play a game or two but some reason we did not begin. Instead we sat silently looking at nothing in particular as though we all shared some unsaid question no one wanted to ask.

Rustafa, the Jedi, sat on the sand with his back against a large rock jutting from the ground at a slight angle making a comfortable back rest for him to sit and survey us. Rustafa was an older man with a soft round face. The salt and pepper hair on his chin was trimmed neatly and his black hair was combed back over his head though the attempts to make it stay in place were obviously losing the battle. Unruly tufts of hair stuck up from his head making him look somewhat unkempt. His eyes were a soft blue and they wore a kind but constant sad expression that made him look as though he was often thinking of times long ago and far away. His old and simple clothes were patched in spots and the hems of his robe were frayed. Some among us had scoffed at his appearance on the first day thinking we were assigned a dottering old fool, but that opinion had changed quickly after our first encounter with some of Mungo's scouts.

Earlier that day we were traveling into the canyon carefully plodding our way along what appeared to be yet another desolate stretch of the old riverbed, long forgotten by the locals and yet things are rarely what they seem. The walls of the canyon were worn smooth by the constant blowing of sand against the outcroppings. No sound penetrated that space except for our own soft footfalls upon the sandy floor.

Suddenly and without any warning of attack, Rustafa went from a slow moving old man to a flying, whirling blur of robes and electric blue light saber. He sensed the presence of the ambush and before it happened he reacted with such speed that he was aloft before most of knew what was coming. Blaster bolts began to shower down upon us as we scattered, yet he had flown up to the ledge of the canyon wall and was already upon them. His saber flashed as it deflected blaster bolts and sliced through the attackers who fell quickly. A few ran off in the desert and we attempted to pursue but Rider called us back. The fight was over moments after it began.

One of the younger trainees finally broke the silence and asked the question that was on all our minds.

"Master" he asked thoughtfully, "how did you know the maurauders were going to ambush us as we passed though the canyon?"

The whole group looked at each other and back at Rustafa as he continued to look into the fire almost as if he had not heard the question. A soft murmur broke out as some of the older trainees began to chastise the younger one for bothering him. Then as though he had heard enough, Rustafa finally raised a weathered hand and the group fell silent once again.

"The answer to your question is a rather lengthy story" he said in a soft voice. His eyes darted back and forth as though they were seeing some epic battle from a distance. "I will tell you what I can, however I do not have all the facts about the group known as 'The Hand'." Rustafa added. "To know the full story would require the presence of one of my former students you would know as Jacobus."


	2. Chapter 2

Jacobus by WebRuss

Chapter 2 - A Little History Lesson

At the sound of that name the whole group sat upright as though they were suddenly electrocuted by sand eels. They all looked at each other sharing looks of shock and surprise. There were gasps and lots of whispered exchanges between the group as they talked quickly with each other.

Suddenly Rider who sat to Rustafa's left called the group back to silence. She was Rustafa's current padawan in her fourth or fifth year of training. "Be quiet now" she called. "If you don't listen how will you learn the truth?" Her lips were pressed together tightly and her face showed annoyance at the constant interruptions.

As the talking died away Rustafa continued in a soft voice.

"Jacobus was one of my first students." he said in a matter of fact tone. "He and I were on a mission to retrieve a Jedi known as Coloss from his base deep in the dessert of this planet. The only way to find him was to follow a dry river bed that ran for hundreds of miles along the canyons." He broke off at that statement but never looked up from the flames. His eyes however now glistened as though some sad memory had brought tears.

The night sky was starting to turn black as ink and the darkness of the dessert began to engulf us and a few night creatures begin to call in the distance. The light from the flames of the fire mingled with shadows from the desert as they danced in a never ending mix of shades of light and dark. I though about how this might very well match Rustafa's mood as he slowly drew a breath to continue his story.

"I am not going to bother with what this experience did to me." he began, showing the wisdom of age and experience as a story teller who knows what his audience really wants to hear.

"Yet to understand the effect of this experience upon me you will need to know how I got there, what I saw and how I traveled along that ancient riverbed to find this errant Jedi. It was something at the end of the journey, that was the great lesson of the experience. It cast a new light upon everything around me and into my thoughts. It changed the way I understand the force. The experience was sorrowful, but far from exceptional in any way and it was also quite unclear. Yes, very unclear, yet it did affect me and change my point of view on a good many things, including the force."

"When I was a young padawan I dreamed of exploring. I loved to look at the star charts and imagine myself flying off to explore some new planet. I would close my eyes and randomly point a finger into the star charts and think about going to that place. Now much of our galaxy is already known and so it held little interest for me to explore it. But this planet, it was not well known and held many amazing landmarks. The war came and I was unable to explore as my duties required me to be many other places. I had long forgotten about it until it was requested to seek out this Jedi named Coloss. I jumped at the opportunity to take what seemed a routine assignment as it would afford me the opportunity to come to this planet."

"I was allowed to take the assignment although it had been many years before, long before the wars, that another Jedi who had attempted the journey had allegedly died in an ambush from some of the local marauders. They were never able to retrieve his body and no one really knows why he died in the first place. Some say he quarreled with the locals, others say he was attacked by some unknown assailant and defeated."

"I can tell you with some assurance that he did die but why he allowed himself to be killed is still a mystery. I'm not even sure why I went looking for him as he had lived many years before I was born, yet I needed to see my predecessor. When I found what was left of his body, he was laying face down with the head of a native spear sticking through his back. The village was deserted as I'm sure all the villagers feared that great calamities would now fall upon them from the heavens. As best I can piece together from locals of other nearby villages is that he was standing in a group of local villagers arguing with the chief. At some point during this argument someone crept up behind him and stabbed him in the back."

"I never did make sense of the situation. A trained Jedi nnight allowed himself to be killed by one of the locals with a crude spear in the back. I often wondered if he chose to die, allowing himself to pass beyond. This among many questions remained unanswered for me. The desert can do strange things even to a disciplined Jedi mind." he continued. "To find Coloss would require us to travel deep back into the dark corners of the canyon. I took Jacobus and two other Jedi with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Jacobus by WebRuss

Chapter 3 - The Journey

"We began the journey aboard a Corellian CR90. We left from Corisant and traveled for many days before we arrived on this planet. Once here we had to find local transport. We secured a captain for hire that was no more loyal than the highest bidder. We traveled over land slowly out from any civilization into the wild desert where these places could only be described as the place where the insane dance of death and commerce goes on in a still and other worldly atmosphere like a baking catacomb. The desert seemed to try and ward off life. We never stopped but the force that moved through this desert seemed to emanate a general sense of vague and oppressive wonder upon us. I felt as if we were weary pilgrims traveling amongst nightmares."

At what seemed the furthest point from any civilization the captain stopped the transport and let us know that this was as far as he went. From here we must journey on foot. I stepped out of the transport and the heat became instantly oppressive. I pulled up my hood and gestured to Jacobus and the other two Jedi to follow me into the local village. I sought some shade from the sun and noticed a large arched building at the edge of the dry riverbed. I approached with the Jedi and my padawan following me.

It was then I saw the shapes crouched, laying, sitting between the support columns. All of them in attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair. Here the locals had come to die. They were dying slowly, that part was very clear. I wondered if they were enemies or criminals but it did not seem important. They were nothing but shadows of disease, starvation and despair lying confused in the evening gloom.

Many were slaves brought here to serve the mines and fed upon unfamiliar food rations they became sick and could no longer labor and were allowed to crawl away to this place to rest. As my eyes adjusted to the low light I became aware of a face near my left hand. This bag of bones rested against the column and slowly the eyelids rose and the sunken eyes looked up at me, wide and vacant, full of a kind of blindness, the flicker of life in the depths of those orbs, which was slowly dying out. The man seemed to be young, perhaps a boy, but it was hard to tell."

"Near the same column two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up. One, with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence. While I stood and surveyed this suffering, one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went off on all-fours towards the water pan in the middle of the room to drink. He lapped out of his hand, then sat up in the sunlight, crossing his shins in front of him, and after a time let his bare head fall on his breastbone."

"What I was keenly aware of was the the force was slowly draining out of me like so many tiny cuts all over me were suddenly leaking out my life's blood. I knew we had to leave that place quickly or be overcome, yet I turned and there was Jacobus with a look of morbid fascination upon his face. He had seen death many times, but this time he was enthralled by this slow and torturous death spiral. I called to him and at first he did not respond but then after a few moments he looked at me and then followed me out. I believe at this moment his fascination with death began."

Rustafa paused in his story telling and many of us shifted uncomfortably around at the fire. Jacobus was known among us as a feared and deadly enemy. Rumors often spread that he was wild with anger and often killed out of pure rage like a sith. Then at times he was merciful and kind. Rider sat still, almost motionless and her eyes were transfixed on a point far from this place, her face was unreadable. The sky was now a deep sea of dark blue covered with stars. The twin moons were rising above the skyline and were almost entirely visible. There was much more to say and Rustafa seemed to be gauging what to say and what to withhold.

"I quickly took the entire group out of that place and by chance we walked past a trading post. Coming from the door, I heard an unusual, yet familiar sound. Unmistakable in its notes and lyrics I heard the opening aria of the opera Corisina. The high notes lifted and fell sung with exquisite skill and I was drawn to the sound. We all walked into the trading post lobby, and there on a small stage in the corner, was a crying dawn singer in full plumage. The lobby was a small area at the front of the trading post with a dozen or so tables on the wooden plank floor. Along the wall were a series of booths all filled with merchants and ship's crews, pirates and traders alike. Normally this room would be a raucous bustle of noise from competing voices all babbling and conspiring. Yet as the singer lifted the notes, the room had fallen still, everyone in the room was mesmerized. Some puffed slowly at their hooka, others stared off into the distance."

"The singing continued for several minutes and then, just as it had started it ended. The audience, slowly came back to life, some shaking their heads as though they were shaking off sleep. I turned and began to walk towards the wookie that was tending the singer as the shop keeper stepped into my path. This was a man who stood juxtaposed to the surroundings. He wore a white shirt that was clean and fresh, his pants and shoes were immaculate and his external appearance was remarkable. I might have thought him to be a member of the senatorial staff on Corisant if I was not aware of where we were. To remain this clean in such a filthy place where death hung about like an oppressive mask required great discipline of the mind."

"I greeted him and introduced my group to him. He returned the greeting warmly and invited us to sit and have drinks. I agreed and asked him to tell me who I could hire for transport. His eyes darted about and he leaned in. "

"Talk to Mungo at the corner booth." he said quietly. "He will have what you need."

"I thanked him and he turned to head for the bar. I motioned the other two to sit at the table"

"I am going to speak to Mungo" I said softly. "Watch the door."


	4. Chapter 4

Jacobus by WebRuss

Chapter 4 Arranging Passage.

In the corner booth sat a squat man with a Nubian slave girl on his right. I eyed him carefully as I approached the table. One of his underlings saw me coming and stood up and stepped towards me as I approached. I could see the blaster in his right hand, and I sensed his partner walking up behind me. I raised my hand and gently nudged him with the force and at the same time, pulled his partner to me. I did not draw my blade, for it would not be prudent, but instead in an instant I had both of them by the necks, stepped up to Mungo's table, and pushed them face down on the table's edge. The incident caused a little disturbance and a few heads turned but just as quickly went back to their business.

Mungo raised his eyes, looked at his underlings in what I could only interpret as disgust and motioned for me to let his underlings go. I released them and pushed them gently away. He then gestured to his left, offering to let me sit down across from him. As I sat down he began to speak. "You have come to find Coloss" he said in a matter of fact tone. I was surprised by his forthright statement, but then again, why else would another Jedi be on this planet.

"Yes" I replied, "and I need transport and a guide." Mungo looked at me then at his slave girl. He motioned for her to leave. As she was extricating herself from the table, the shop keeper stepped up with a round of drinks on a platter which he served quickly and departed.

Mungo picked up both drinks and handed one to me. He sniffed at it and then took a sip. I too took a sip from my cup and continued to wait for a reply. Finally he spoke.

"I have what you need, but I doubt you can afford it." he said in a flat tone, his face all business and no pleasure, "You see, I know that Jedi are bound by an oath of poverty, and you seem to take that quite seriously." I was unsure if that comment was a joke or an attempt at an insult intended to keep me off balance.

"I am not without funds" I said as I began to nudge his will with the force, "I am sure we can come to an arrangement."

His face went from very serious to a moment where he just perceptibly smiled, but then it was gone. "Yes I'm sure we can come to an arrangement, but your Jedi mind tricks will not work on me so stop trying." He stated in a matter of fact tone.

"I see" I replied. "What is your price?" I asked, not wanting to prolong this discussion any more than necessary as this was a dangerous place and a dangerous man. Just then I heard a shriek and saw a flash of light saber from across the room. Jacobus had drawn his light saber and dispatched another bar patron. He was standing with blade drawn, the tip just a fraction of space from the dying man's face. Jacobus had a look of fury upon his face and was boiling over with anger. The other Jedi was standing, his hand on his blade but had not drawn.

I was now in a precarious position as I was seated across from a very dangerous man and Jacobus had just killed someone in the bar. The anxiety in the room went up perceptibly, as Jacobus' rage seethed out of him like a land speeder's engine winding up. I had to act quickly or more deaths would certainly follow. The events that happened next took only a split second, yet I see them as lasting for much longer in my mind.

I felt the movement before I saw it. One of Mungo's henchmen started to bring up his weapon to bear upon me, without taking my gaze from Mungo I summoned my will and force pushed hard like a wave out from where I was sitting toward the people around us. Mungo's eyes became wide with fear as people around us were suddenly swept up and away. The force push also ruptured the windows and glass started to rain down around us. I reached out and grabbed Mungo's arm and launched us both out of the booth and through the empty window frame.

Mungo's bellows of fright, blaster bolts and flying glass accompanied me as we flew out the window. The Jedi and Jacobus, just a moment behind us, came running out the door in pursuit as I launched Mungo into the passenger seat of his land speeder and ignited the engines. The other Jedi and landed in the rear seats and Jacobus upon the rear hatch of the speeder. I accelerated hard and blasted away from the bar with Mungo's henchmen close behind.

I ran us at full speed out of town and straight for the dry riverbed. We bounced and weaved our way through the streets. The speeder kicked up an enormous cloud of dust behind us so that our pursuers had to slow down and follow at a distance as the dust cloud covered our escape. After a few twists and turns, I could not see our pursuers but the occasional blaster bolt shot past us. A few times they were close enough that I felt the heat. Finally I spotted the way out and turned us towards the desert, avoiding rocks and derelicts of old mining ships scattered about like fallen monuments.

We skimmed across the open desert, Jacobus and the other Jedi deflecting blaster bolts from the pursuing speeders as they attempted to flank us. As I continued to evade I saw the opening of the canyon ahead and accelerated the speeder well past the safety limits. The speeder whined and warning sirens sounded as we cleared the edge of the canyon and dropped at full speed towards the sand-filled river bed below. Mungo bellowed in pure fright as I fought with the controls and attempted to level out as we dropped to the riverbed. We bounced off the sandy bottom and shot us along the riverbed looking for a hiding spot. Our pursuers had to slow down to drop over the edge of the canyon and this gave us a few moments lead to find a hiding spot. Finally I saw a small opening barely noticeable from the riverbed and turned hard to the right and slipped us into the small alcove.

I cut off the speeder's engines and it dropped softly onto the floor of the little hiding spot, just out of sight from the riverbed. I signaled to everyone to lay low and got a firm grip on Mungo and made it clear that if he attempted to alert our pursuers I would do terrible things to him. We sat silently, except for a soft whimper coming from Mungo. The pursuers shot past us and continued down the riverbed. I turned my gaze to Mungo and observed how this very tough looking bandit was now a cowering child. How often it is the case when one who rules by fear is suddenly confronted with their own terror, they melt into cowards.

The pursuing gang shot past us and did not notice our hiding spot. We breathed a sigh of relief and I relaxed my grip on Mungo slightly and spoke to him softly. "You will be our guide" I said calmly. "You will lead us to Coloss." His eyes were full of terror and I knew he feared or at least respected me and would comply.

I looked around at my companions. The other Jedi was sitting calmly with arms crossed meditating and conserving his strength. Jacobus was nervously looking around and was still spitting and showing obvious anger. I took a moment and centered myself and assessed our situation. Here we were, two Jedi, a padawan, and an outlaw forced into service as our guide. We were hiding in this hole and being pursued because of the actions of Jacobus. This was the first of many outbursts that caused me to discipline him severely and made me doubt his true path.


End file.
